THE DEATH TRADE

An elite British special operative unit must prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities and battle an ever growing contingent of al-Qaida terrorists.

In this thriller from Higgins (The Devil is Waiting, 2012, etc.), the reader is introduced to multinational terrorists who retain an unrelenting allegiance to the agenda of Osama bin Laden. In this installment, an Iranian scientist who possesses the intellectual capabilities to enable Iran to gain a nuclear weapon must be freed from the fetters placed on him by his country so that he can use his incredible body of scientific knowledge in the pursuit of goodness. Serial characters who reappear to play central roles in this novel include the former IRA assassin–turned–loyal British man-at-arms Sean Dillion; the leader of the prime minister’s "private army," Gen. Charles Ferguson; and Sara Gideon, a heroine from the war in Afghanistan who utilizes her ruthless killing ability and the immense wealth of her banking family to fight for justice wherever and whenever she must. A somewhat unbelievable plot develops when high-ranking Iranian officials are, in fact, working for al-Qaida and continually attempt to kill Dillion and Gideon. To make matters even more complicated, or fantastic, a half Iranian/half Irish hero of the Iran-Iraq War, Col. Declan Rashid, appeals to his "Irish side" and begins to work against his family and his country while developing romantic feelings for Gideon. In a number of instances, Higgins will introduce characters and scenarios that echo the British adventure stories of the late-Victorian period. However, a lack of character development and minimal scene setting make this reverberation of an earlier, and idealized, writing tradition a fleeting experience.